Investigators are examining the digital footprint of Madison, Wisconsin school shooter Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow as well as looking into verifying a possible manifesto that the 15-year-old may have left behind.
Rupnow opened fire on kids and staff at Abundant Life Christian School on Monday – raining bullets in the study hall and killing two before turning the gun on herself.
Accounts being linked to Rupnow online show an obsession with possible white supremacist ideologies and infamous past school shooters.
Screenshots posted of her alleged manifesto have shown Rupnow to be a lonely child who said she was ‘trapped and forced into my corner.’
Rupnow expressed unhappiness at what she described as a broken home and made multiple references to a therapist.
She allegedly describes herself as a ‘loner’ but admits she will ‘mourn for friends but sooner than later they’ll leave.’
The pages posted do not point to a specific political ideology but they claim ‘we need revolution.’
It ends with a quote attributed to the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski: ‘Finally, one learns that boredom is a disease of civilization.’
Social media portrays a more disturbed portrait, as she allegedly has posted photos of Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz and Columbine ‘trenchcoat mafia’ members Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.
Another sign of a possible obsession with the Columbine massacre is previously verified photos of Rupnow wearing the shirt of German industrial rock band KMFDM.
Jeff Rupnow posted the snap to his public Facebook page in August, showing his daughter pointing a shotgun at a clay pigeon while wearing a black top emblazoned with the name of the band.
Columbine killer Eric Harris was infamously seen wearing a KMFDM T-shirt ahead of the 1999 Colorado high school massacre where 13 were murdered.
The teenaged shooters in the 1999 Columbine school massacre in Colorado were known to be avid fans of the band, and one of the killers posted the band’s lyrics on his website.
At the time, KMFDM issued a statement condemning the attack, expressing sympathy for the victims and affirming its music was intended to stand against violence.
The massacre is often seen as a watershed moment in the age of American school shootings.
Rupnow appears to be gaining influence from neo-Nazi ideologies based on her social media life.
The Columbine shooters included speeches from Adolf Hitler on Harris’ website in addition to the rock lyrics.
On an X account believed to be Rupnow’s, she posted a video of a stabbing that took place in Sweden in 2015 that ended in the death of a teacher. The stabber was believed to have targeted immigrants.
On December 13, three days before the shooting, the account shared a video of someone taking their own life at a gun range.
The last two posts, put out minutes before Rupnow opened fire, showed someone giving the ‘OK’ sign, which the Anti-Defamation League has called a white power symbol.
The second was a Google Drive link with no further description, which some have speculated is the manifesto.
A Tumblr potentially connected to Rupnow shows photos of guns and pictures from past shootings, according to ABC News.
‘Identifying a motive is our top priority, but at this time it appears that the motive was a combination of factors,’ Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said at a press conference.
He added: ‘A document about this shooting is circulating at this time on social media, but we have not verified its authenticity.’
Barnes did not provide more detail, saying he didn’t want to jeopardize the investigation.
Investigators are examining her cell phone, computer and online posts as well as looking into verifying a possible manifesto that the shooter may have left behind.
Some details of Rupnow’s life have begun to emerge.
Police have confirmed the name of the street where she lived in Madison. Online records show someone named Jeffrey Rupnow lives on the same street, and a Facebook profile belonging to a Jeff Rupnow in Madison shows photos of a newborn daughter named Natalie Lynn from 2009, 15 years ago.
Jeff Rupnow’s cover photo, posted in August, shows what appears to be a teenaged girl trap shooting with a shotgun at a local club.
In a comment on the site, Jeff Rupnow says he and his child joined the club in the spring and ‘have been loving all every second of it.’
Rupnow could not be reached for comment.
James and Rebekah Smith, parents of a 17-year-old student at Abundant Life Christian School, are revealing details about one of the victims, whom they say are all family friends, as well as the shooter.
They told Fox News that Natalie ‘Samantha’ Rupnow had only enrolled at the school during the current semester.
The Smiths did not know Rupnow nor her family. Their daughter claimed she never spoke to anyone.
Two students remained in critical condition, while several other victims suffered less serious injuries, officials said.
Police said Rupnow used a pistol, but have not said how it was obtained. Earlier this year, the Michigan parents of a school shooter in that state were found guilty for their role in allowing their son to have access to the gun he used to kill.
Wisconsin officials said at Tuesday’s press conference that it was far too early to say if Rupnow’s parents could be held legally responsible.
Police Chief Barnes said that for now it appeared that such charges were not warranted.
Rupnow killed a student, a teacher, and then herself at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison shortly before 11am on Monday.
Police got a 911 call at 10:57am Monday morning, and within three minutes, county sheriff’s deputies had arrived at Abundant Life Christian School, which educates about 420 students. Local police arrived seconds later.
At 11:05am, they said that they’d found the shooter wounded and recovered the weapon. Rupnow was pronounced dead en route to the hospital.
Simultaneously, fire department workers got to the scene and began to care for the victims. Currently, two students are hospitalized with life-threatening injuries and are said to be in critical condition.
A teacher and three other students were also hospitalized with less serious wounds. Two of them were released Monday evening.
Victims have yet to be identified, pending family notification.
